Floral therapy is the new theme at Charles the Florist, winner of the Garden Talk Award for Best Florist. Susan Soczka is the owner of the downtown Appleton shop. / Robert Zimmer/The Post-Crescent

Written by

Robert Zimmer

Post-Crescent staff writer

Collector's daylilies, like Embers of Vesuvius, continue to be popular with gardeners due their extravagant blooms, hardiness and attractive foliage. / Robert Zimmer/The Post-Crescent

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To compile the second annual Garden Talk Awards, I, along with a few of my gardening friends, visited each greenhouse, garden center and specialty shop in the area a minimum of three times over the course of the growing season to view the selection available, as well as the quality of the plants and other items for sale.

Some of the choices were painfully difficult, as we are blessed with so much creativity and such a large number of gardening outlets in the Fox Cities. Because of this, I have included an “Also Visit” location in each category as well, a runner-up, so to speak.

Based on these observations, the winners in a number of gardening categories are listed here. Many new awards have been added this year by popular demand. The information below is provided in the spirit of fun, solely the opinions of a few passionate gardeners. Remember, if your neighborhood garden center doesn’t carry a certain plant or variety you are looking for, simply ask. Most will gladly order special for you.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Part 2 comes next Friday.

Best Perennials: Stuart’s Landscaping & Garden Center, Oshkosh

The selection and quality of plants available at Stuart’s earns the Oshkosh location this year’s award. The large greenhouse overflows into the surrounding sales areas with ornamental grasses, natives, daylilies, shrubs, coneflowers and much more. Prices vary by individual cultivar. Also visit: Honeymoon Acres Greenhouse, New Holstein

Best Annuals: The Plant Station Greenhouse, Appleton

From standard bedding plants of assorted traditional varieties to specialty annuals, the assortment available at The Plant Station contains many unusual and hard-to-find selections, all at fair, comparable prices. Be sure to visit early in spring for the best selection. Also visit: Robinson Florist & Greenhouse, Kimberly

Best Trees and Shrubs: Van Zeeland Nursery & Landscape, Little Chute

So many fine choices in the area, but for selection, display, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and atmosphere, the award goes to Van Zeeland. Also visit: Schmalz Custom Landscaping & Garden Center, Appleton

Best Roses: Van Zeeland Nursery & Landscape, Little Chute

While many nurseries and garden centers in our area carry roses, it is the knowledgeable staff and selection at Van Zeeland that takes the prize. Also visit: Wolfrath’s Nursery and Landscaping, Hortonville

Best Daylilies: Solaris Farms, Reedsville

With nearly 2,000 varieties to purchase or on display, all dug fresh to order while you wait, there is no better way to select daylilies for your garden or landscaping needs than a visit to Solaris Farms. Be prepared to spend at least a few hours wandering the sales fields and display gardens and don’t forget your camera. Also visit: Rose-Hill Gardens, Hobart

Best Hosta Selection: Pondside Gardens, Kiel

With nearly 700 of the finest hosta cultivars to select from, most growing along the sloping walls of beautifully wooded ravines, Pondside Gardens is a must-visit destination for hosta lovers. Each year, the newest hosta introductions are offered for the standard low price of $10 per potted plant, a steal compared to online prices for the same varieties. Also visit: Edgewood Hostas & Perennials, Kaukauna

Best Display Gardens: Rose-Hill Gardens, Hobart

The terraced landscape, island beds, beautiful rock and gravel borders, sculpted fountains and careful placement of shade and sun plants, miniature conifers and other unique varieties, make the display gardens at Rose-Hill top of the class. Also visit: Solaris Farms, Reedsville

Best Shade Plants: Stuart’s Landscaping & Garden Center, Oshkosh

From hard-to-find ferns, collector’s coral bells, assorted columbines, natives for shade, dozens of varieties of hostas and more, the selection of shade plants at Stuart’s is wonderful. In addition, potted plants at Stuart’s usually contain several divisions, well worth the prices charged. Prices vary by cultivar. Also visit: Stein Gardens & Gifts, Appleton

Stroll through a small shaded valley complete with bubbling stream and gravel pathways. All around you, hundreds of the finest shade plants grow freely among the sloping ridges, neatly labeled and perfectly poised. Including hostas, hydrangeas, ferns, spring ephemerals, lobelia, as well as colorful spring bulbs, the King Shade Garden at Green Bay Botanical Garden is a paradise for shade gardeners. Also visit: Rose-Hill Gardens, Hobart

Stuart’s offers a full selection of native perennials, including grasses, spring ephemerals, ferns, prairie bloomers and more. Included are plants for shade, sun, wet and dry areas, many available in multiple sizes. While other garden centers might sell native plants, the size and quality of the plants at Stuart’s stand out. Also visit: Stein Gardens & Gifts, Appleton

Best Native Plant Display Gardens: Wild Ones WILD Center, Neenah

The WILD Center, located on Butte des Morts Beach Road in Neenah, features several large gardens filled with thousands of colorful native perennials and grasses. Be sure to visit often, as the parade of color changes weekly as different plants cycle into bloom. Also visit: Mosquito Hill Nature Center – Living Classroom, New London

Best Seed Selection: Mill’s Fleet Farm, Appleton

Spring gardeners flock to Mill’s Fleet Farm to select from their wide assortment of quality seeds including varieties found nowhere else. Shop early in the season for the best selection of flowering plants, herbs, vegetables, seed potatoes, seed onions and more. Also visit: Stein Gardens & Gifts, Appleton

Best Garden Inspiration: The Vintage Garden, Appleton

For lovers of vintage garden art, architecture and whimsical garden elements, The Vintage Garden has something for everyone. Visit the gallery often as there is always something new and different. Reasonable prices, beloved antique treasures and unusual art elements fill the store, while your mind races with possibilities. Also visit: The Wreath Factory, Menasha

Best Florist: Charles the Florist, Appleton

Wonderful hand-crafted bouquets and arrangements from Charles the Florist in downtown Appleton are designed to perfection, carefully selected to express every sentiment. With so many exceptional florists in our area, this was the most difficult category to award. Also visit: Sterling Gardens Florist & Boutique, Neenah

Best Vegetable Starters: Fernhau’s Greenhouse, Oshkosh

With a unique assortment of heirloom vegetables and herbs, all greenhouse-grown on site, Fernhau’s is many a gardener’s secret spring hotspot for vegetable plants as well as annual bedding plants for the garden. Also visit: Stein Gardens & Gifts, Appleton

Best Succulents: Rose-Hill Gardens, Hobart

A stunning assortment of succulents, both hardy and indoor varieties, makes Rose-Hill Gardens your top spot for these tough little plants. In addition to the large selection, visitors can get wonderful ideas for using succulent plants by browsing the amazing succulent display beds and hypertufa container plantings. Also visit: Mayflower Greenhouse, Hobart

Best Tropical Plants: Memorial Florists & Greenhouses, Appleton

Create a tropical paradise indoors or out with the lush foliage and flowering plants available at Memorial Florists. The assortment and variety here is amazing. Also visit: Riverside Florist & Greenhouses, Appleton

Best Herbs: Stein Gardens & Gifts, Appleton

A huge variety of fresh herbs, along with fun planting ideas, even recipes, makes the selection at Stein the winner. Great plant sales as the growing season deepens make purchasing fresh herbs at Stein for year-round use a bargain. With many unique varieties of sages, mints, basils and other flavorful herbs to choose from, Stein helps you to create the herb garden of your dreams. Also visit: Mayflower Greenhouse, Hobart

Best Heuchera Selection: Rose-Hill Gardens, Hobart

Heucheras, or Coral Bells, are fast becoming a popular collector’s plant for shade gardens, thanks to their ornate, colorful foliage and compact mounding habit. The variety and prices at Rose-Hill Gardens is outstanding, with Stuart’s Landscaping taking a very close second. Also visit: Stuart’s Landscaping & Garden Center, Oshkosh

The Plant Awards: Zimmer's best of the year

Following last year’s awards, readers asked for my choices for top plants in different categories. What are your favorites? Email me with your comments and suggestions.

Best Perennial: Hybrid Coneflowers (native). Long-blooming, colorful, drought tolerant and reliable, the many new varieties of coneflowers win the award for best perennial. As an added bonus, coneflowers (echinacea) are among the top plants for attracting butterflies and birds to the garden. Also try: Black bug bane (hybrid of native)

Best Annual: Salvia/Sage varieties. The large-blossoming varieties of sage take the prize, such as Black and Blue, Pineapple, the brilliant Limelight and the unusual Golden sage, not only for their long- and late-blooming habit, but their airy beauty and usefulness in attracting hummingbirds to the garden. Also try: Lisanthus

Best Collector’s Tree: Pagoda Dogwood (native). With its unique layered look, this beautiful native can be grown as a shrub or small tree, reaching 25 feet in height. Beautiful in all seasons, the unique and shapely Pagoda dogwood explodes with lacey blossoms in spring and boasts amazing fall color. Also try: Tri-colored beech

Best Daylily: Saracenia. A 2012 Solaris Farms introduction, the unique light purple/lavender color, beautifully ruffled edge and huge plant size of Saracenia make this a must-have daylily to add to your garden. Makes an outstanding centerpiece or specimen plant. Also try: Primal Scream

Best Lily: TIE Holland Beauty and Robina. Holland Beauty contains perhaps the largest blooms of any of the new series of giant oriental x trumpet hybrid lilium varieties. Robina is a beautiful, icy, silver-pink with a sparkling white center. Both are sometimes marketed as “lily trees,” growing to 8-10’ or more with stalks as thick as small trees once established. Also try: Satisfaction

Most Overused Perennial: Stella D’Oro daylily. Tried and true, as well as highly reliable, the old-fashioned Stella D’Oro is still highly sought after as a landscaping plant. However, with so many excellent new choices available to gardeners and landscapers, its time to add a little color and variety. Also overused: Catmint

Most Underused Perennial: Hosta. Hostas could also easily be classified as overused as well, but I refer to the modern, hybrid hostas here. Even today, so many gardeners have not been exposed to the new generation of hostas, bigger, more imposing, more spectacular than ever. These aren’t your grandma’s hostas, nor the 30-year-old hybrids commonly sold at the big box stores. These are plants of character, color and personality. Also underused: Jack-in-the-pulpits (native)

Most Unusual Perennial: Toad Lilies. Spectacular in shade, and containing intricately spotted, orchid-like blooms, the many varieties of toad lilies should appear in a lot more shade gardens. Ranging from 6 inches to 3 feet in height, these plants are also late-season bloomers, bringing color and interest to the garden as late as October. Also try: Torch lily varieties